A Date
by Clementine17
Summary: This is when she kisses him. This is mistake number three; one guess for what mistake number four is. Future D/B


Serena's wedding is small and beautiful

Serena's wedding is small and beautiful. However, considering the small size of the guest list it rapidly becomes clear to Blair that there is not one single man there that is worthy of her time. With this new realization she focuses on getting drunk as quickly and subtly as possible. This turns out to be a more than difficult task since people keep coming up to her and telling her how beautiful she looks in her maid of honor gown. An hour into the reception and she's only managed to have two glasses of champagne and any buzz she may have gained was hastily destroyed by all the chattering about the beautiful bride and her new husband. It is when she finally manages to down a third glass that Dan Humphrey finds her.

"Serena's looking for you," he says. Blair looks around him to see her best friend glowing at all the people around her. She wonders if Serena will be angry if she throws up on the tray of mini quiches. To be fair, no one actually likes mini quiches. She slowly makes her way over to the bride, silently chiding herself for her cynicism. It is nice to see Serena so happy, she just wishes she could share in the happiness. It always seemed like a give and take with them. Either Serena was deliriously happy and Blair was miserable or Serena was miserable and Blair was deliriously happy. Blair had only brought up this theory once and Serena had been quick to vehemently deny it. But that was Serena, always quick to destroy any theories that might suggest that their friendship could ever slip again. Ever since the catastrophe of her return to New York society so many years ago Serena had made sure that their fights never got out of hand again. Yes, there were still spats here and there, but friendships were nothing without them. Despite her somewhat sour mood, Blair finds herself smiling as she approaches her best friend.

"Oh my Gosh, there are so many people here. I really thought that having under two hundred people would make it less chaotic. It's like a zoo, a really well dressed zoo," Serena says with a laugh as she encases Blair into a giant hug. Serena is always hugging people these days. It's as if she's been so happy lately that she is about to burst and has to pass all the happiness off to other people just to survive.

"Just breathe," Blair says, quickly pulling back from Serena. It makes her a bit uncomfortable to be around so much joy.

"I just wanted to thank you. I couldn't have done this without you. I love you, B," she says and Blair realizes with a sigh of relief that Serena is letting her leave. She tends to forget how perceptive Serena is.

"Thank you," Blair says and Serena smiles.

"I'll see you in a few weeks," she says and with that someone else takes over the conversation and Serena turns away from her. On her way to get both her purse and her wrap she is able to gulp another two glasses of champagne. The buzz is finally overtaking her and she loosens her hair from the tight bun. She briefly wonders what the best route home will be when Dan Humphrey finds her again.

"You were dismissed as well?" he asks in a too cheery tone that makes her suspect that he too has been drinking. But, when she looks at him his face looks so sincerely happy that she immediately turns away. His sincerity has always bothered her.

"Is she getting rid of everyone," she asks and hears him chuckle.

"Just the people she knows can't stand these types of parties. I may love the two of them, but if one more person makes me explain how I know the bride and groom I may kill myself."

"It is an interesting story," she says, but he ignores her.

"It's funny. I always assumed that you would be the type of person who loved weddings," he says and she finds him opening the door for her as they walk out into the cool summer air.

"Not so much," she replies and wonders why everything looks a bit hazy. Then she remembers that she didn't eat anything before she drank. She'll later refer to this as mistake number one.

"Take a walk with me?" he asks. For some reason she will never quite understand she nods. The only plausible reason she comes up with later is that there weren't any available cabs and she wasn't in her right mind. It doesn't really matter, but this decision becomes mistake number two. They walk into the park and she is beginning to fully embrace the fact that she is somewhat drunk.

"Why are you so happy?" she asks, now leaning on his arm. This is not on account of the drinking, but instead because her heels are a good four inches off the ground.

"My best friend just got married. Why wouldn't I be happy?" he asks.

"Because he married your ex-girlfriend, who also happens to be your stepsister," Blair explains. She hears Dan let out a soft laugh.

"You know Serena and I don't like that term. You also know that I set them up, I'm actually the one who is responsible for that entire wedding."

"So modest," Blair teases, and is a bit horrified to hear her voice sound somewhat friendly. She hates champagne. Dan is smiling at her and she remembers that she does not completely hate him.

"Absolutely," he replies and the wind whooshes around them and Blair feels the silk of her dress press against her skin. If they were any other couple this could be a very romantic scene; his tie slightly undone and her hair falling all over the place as they make their way through the moonlit park. She suddenly has the urge to throw up again. Then she looks at him and in that moment she forgets that she is looking at Dan Humphrey, her best friend's ex and boy who has always thrived on the fact that he is not a member of the Upper East Side. She is just looking at this boy who is walking with her through the park and has kept her from falling, even though she's come close three times now. This is when she kisses him. This is mistake number three; one guess for what mistake number four is.

-

Dan wakes up the next morning to find Blair gone as well as her dress and purse, but not her wrap. He takes this as a sign that he must find her. Dan does not believe in true love, fate, soul mates, or any of that, but he does believe that there are always simple signs out there that help us decide what to do. Blair's orange, cashmere wrap that probably costs more than the suit he had on last night is one of those signs. This is why he gets up right away despite his increasing headache from the pre-wedding scotch and hails a cab to her apartment. It isn't until he's halfway there that it sinks in that he is going to see Blair Waldorf because he slept with her the night before. He doesn't stop laughing until he gets into the elevator.

-

"Thanks," Blair all but spits out as he hands the wrap back to her. She's in sweat pants and a tank top and while he is sure that they are designer, it is still a bit of a shock to see her look so casual.

"You're welcome," he replies cheerfully. She glares at him for a moment and then audibly sighs.

"What do you want Dan?'

"To take you to dinner."

"What?"

"I want to take you out to dinner."

"Like a date?" Blair asks and Dan's smile widens.

"No, not like a date, but a date," he clarifies. He's never seen her look so stunned and he finds himself enjoying it.

"Dan, last night was a mistake. A huge, colossal mistake and we should just pretend it never happened. Agreed?" Blair asks, her mood turning to some forced cheeriness that he is all too familiar with. He's seen it too many times in the past couple months as she helped Serena plan the wedding.

"I don't think I can do that. See you around Blair," he says and turns around. He also finds that he enjoys shocking Blair Waldorf.

-

Blair is able to successfully avoid Dan for two weeks before he finds her in a coffee shop. He sits down in front of her as if she was waiting for him the entire time. She has been able to avoid thinking about their small incident the night of Serena's wedding for the last two weeks and his presence is an unwelcome reminder.

"Hi Blair."

"What are you doing here?" she hisses, which only makes him smile. She hates that he seems to be enjoying her reaction to him.

"Will you go out to dinner with me Saturday?" he asks.

"What are you doing? Why are you doing this?" she questions.

"Because I like you," he replies. Blair leans back against her chair and tries to understand him.

"What?" is all she finally manages to get to come out of her mouth.

"I like you and I would like to take you to dinner," he says.

"That's just ridiculous Dan. Do you feel guilty because of what happened because you don't need to. Just because we slept together does not mean we need to date."

"I know. That's not why I want to date you."

"Dan," she says, attempting to make him understand what the problem without saying it. He looks at her blankly and finally she blurts out, "I hate your sister." She feels the silence settle over their table and drops her eyes to her lap, while silently cursing herself. It had been hard enough seeing him during the wedding and now he wanted to date her. All she thought of when she saw Dan Humphrey was that she wasn't married and all the humiliation that came with that fact.

"I know. Part of me hates her too," he says and his voice is so soft and full of understanding that she can't help but look up and meet his eyes.

"But she's still your sister."

"But she's still my sister," Dan agrees.

"So then why are you asking me something so ridiculous?" she asks in complete confusion.

"Because I like you Blair. I really like you. I'll see you around," he replies and leaves. Blair sits in shock for a minute and then attempts to go back to her coffee. She really wishes Serena wasn't still on her honeymoon because she really needs her best friend. She doesn't understand any of this.

-

"Blair, how wonderful to see you," Mrs. Archibald muses, trapping Blair between clothing racks.

"Mrs. Archibald," Blair says and feels her heart drop to her stomach. This is the last thing she needed right now.

"You look beautiful, dear. I do miss seeing you. I am still so sorry that you and Nate could not make it work," she says.

"Well, it probably worked out for the best," Blair says desperately trying to keep herself together.

"Well, I'm not so sure about that," she says. Blair knows that Mrs. Archibald hates Jenny, that isn't exactly a secret.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Archibald, but I really have to run," she manages to get out.

"Of course," the older woman says and Blair escapes from the store. She manages to get a block away before she breaks down. She hates that she still feels this way. Nate is gone and he is never coming back, something she came to terms with a long time ago. The fact that he left her for Jenny Humphrey is something she still grapples with, but she's working on it. Yet, each time she thinks she has fully moved on it comes up and seems to tear any confidence she's gained apart. For some reason, at that exact moment she finds herself desperately wanting to see Dan. The feeling passes almost as quickly as it comes, but it shocks her. She feels as if she's been jolted awake somehow. She spends the rest of the day trying to convince herself that it didn't mean anything. She doesn't succeed.

-

"I understand that you think this is complicated," Dan says, slipping into the seat next to Blair. Blair isn't sure what is more surprising: that he is at a charity event or that he is in a tux.

"What are you doing here?"

"Lily invited me," he says with a wave of his hand. Blair reminds herself to kill his stepmother later, "but that's not important. What I'm saying is that I understand why you think we would be complicated. I think that we should try anyway."

"Really?" Blair asks and Dan nods.

"Dan, I'm not a nice person," she says.

"I disagree."

"Really? Brooklyn, cabbage patch, charity case. These are all things that I called you when you dated Serena. When you two broke up I told her it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. We hadn't seen each other until I helped Serena with her wedding. You know why? Because I didn't care. I'm a selfish and horrible person and the quicker you understand that the better. I don't understand where you got this idea that you and I would work, but it's wrong. I have to go say hello to some people now," Blair says and gets up from her seat. She knows that her eyes are beginning to water, but she doesn't turn back. This is the way things are meant to be.

-

"You sent back her wedding dress," Dan says as soon as Blair opens the door the next morning. She looks at him in confusion.

"What?"

"You sent back Serena's first wedding dress. You got your mother to design her dress, but you rejected the first one. You made her start over."

"Yes."

"Was the first dress ugly?"

"No, it wasn't ugly," Blair says.

"Did it fit her correctly?"

"Yes."

"Did she look beautiful?"

"Of course, Serena looks beautiful in anything."

"Then why did you send it back," Dan asks. Blair hesitates for a moment and then sighs.

"Because it wasn't Serena. It was too proper and just didn't fit her personality. That's why I made my mother start again."

"Did Serena ask you to send it back?"

"No, she was willing to wear it because it was from my mother. Which is so ridiculous. It was her day and she was willing to sacrifice one of the most important aspects."

"You also dealt with every single person who got angry about not getting invited," Dan states.

"Well, Serena wanted it small," Blair explains.

"And you were the one who kept her from breaking down in the month before the wedding."

"You're making it sound like I did a lot more than I actually did," Blair protests.

"No, Blair I'm not. It's just for some reason you can't accept that you are an amazing person. I've watched you help Serena over the last couple months and everything you have done has been unselfish and truly kind. You helped make sure the wedding was everything she wanted it to be. Even when you disagreed with her or she was getting pressure from other people, you did what she wanted. Blair, don't you see? I want to date you because I like you and I have good reason to," Dan explains. When Blair is silent he continues.

"I know you hate my sister. I don't expect anything else from you. She stole your fiancée and wasn't exactly subtle when she eloped with him two weeks before your own wedding. But, that doesn't actually concern the two of us. Maybe I am completely misguided, but all I know is that I really want to spend more time with you. So, would you please go out to dinner with me?" he asks.

"Okay," Blair says and Dan can see that a small smile is playing on her lips.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at 8," he says and begins to walk away.

"8:30," Blair calls out.

"8:30," he repeats and walks out into the street with a smile on his face.


End file.
